Vince Guaraldi Trio • A Charlie Brown Christmas

What would the Christmas season be without at least one
viewing of CBS Television’s A Charlie Brown Christmas?
And what would a Charlie Brown special be without a wonderful
light jazz score from the Vince Guaraldi Trio? What we have
for review here is the Analogue Productions reissue of the
soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Lovingly remastered at RTI by Steve Hoffman and Kevin Gray,
A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the fourth set of
Analogue Productions’ Fantasy 45 Series. Each record in the
Fantasy 45 Series is a limited edition of 1,000 copies,
remastered at 45-RPM from the original analogue master tapes.
Although mastering at 45-RPM results in shorter sides (typically
less than 10 minutes each), the sonic improvements are worthwhile.

Guaraldi’s piano is wonderfully recorded, as are the bass and
drums, and the great sound quality is evident on this reissue.
Fortunately, this isn’t one of those typical "audiophile"
records which has a great recording of mediocre music; from the
slightly melancholic O Tannenbaum to the sprightly
Linus and Lucy (a personal favourite of mine), listening
to each track is a joy.

I have a copy of this soundtrack on CD, and the comparison with
this Analogue Productions reissue is laughable. The LP has more
detail, body, bass definition, and a smooth, extended treble: it
easily trounces the CD. Even my father in law (who is not, by
any stretch of the imagination, an audiophile) remarked how much
better the LP version was (and was surprised at this revelation).

The bottom line is this: the music is wonderfully enjoyable and
the sound quality is great. At $50, this record isn’t cheap—but
I highly recommend it nonetheless!